Adrian Clark is boxing’s Good Samaritan manager

Boxing is a devastating sport in terms of its physicality, but it’s also a brutal business. Adrian Clark is trying to safeguard boxers outside the ring.

Joyce Carol Oates wrote the iconic essay “The Cruelest Sport” detailing the brutality of boxing inside of the ring. What’s not visible to audiences is the savagery of the sport beyond it. Boxers are often manipulated and taken advantage of, contractually and financially, but boxing manager and advisor Adrian Clark is trying right the wrongs of the boxing business.

Fight fans have heard tales of boxers like Mike Tyson being ripped off by shady promoters and managers. Those stories are seldom told but are all too common in boxing. The biggest name fighters in the world have learned from Oscar De La Hoya’s model—become so big that you can promote yourself.

But most boxers never reach that level of success nor have that opportunity. They rely on managers to negotiate their promotional deals and business sponsorships and are easy targets for corrupt managers who take advantage of their ignorance and naivete. Clark is making a name for himself as the boxing manager and consultant that boxers can trust, and his professional model is inverting the power structure in the sport.

Clark didn’t start as a boxing manager. He graduated from Texas A&M Corpus Christi with a degree in communications with an emphasis on public relations and media. His dream was to become an NBA sports agent, and he achieved it.

“When I was 25 years old, I got certified through the NBA ,” Clark told FanSided. “I didn’t land any big clients. I worked for a childhood friend C.J. Miles who played for the Utah Jazz at the time.”

Clark quickly proved his business acumen to Miles who hired Clark permanently.

“Two weeks after graduation, I was on a plane to Salt Lake City to work as an intern. I actually lived with an NBA player while I was trying to figure out what was my next move,” Clark said. “It was only supposed to be for a couple of months until I found a job or got on my feet, but All-Star week was in Dallas in 2010. I threw a party for C.J., and we made a good amount of money, so I guess he felt keep me around for a little bit if I could set things up and generate income for him.”

Clark worked for Miles for four years, but he felt like he needed a change. He felt financially secure working, but he wanted more control over his fate and destiny. After moving back to Texas, Clark was contacted by professional boxer Jerry Belmontes. Clark fought as an amateur boxer, and his work with Miles made him a known figure in the local fight scene.

“[Belmontes] actually watched me fight in the amateurs, so that’s how he remembered me,” explained Clark. “Then he saw that I went on to help out C.J. in the NBA, so he figured I know this guy, I’ve watched him fight before, he knows the sport inside the ring. So he asked me would I manage him and help him out with his career.”

Just like that Clark was now a boxing manager. The only problem was that he lacked experience.

“I had no clue what I was doing, but I didn’t let him know that,” chuckled Clark remembering his past. “I just pretended like I knew everything. I had to learn on the fly. I didn’t know anything about the industry. I didn’t have any connections. I had an undefeated guy that was 11-0, and I thought I had some leverage, so I just made it work from there.”

Fortunately, Clark established that he’s a quick learner. He helped guide Belmontes to a world title fight. More importantly, he built a reputation as an honest boxing manager who has his client’s best interest at heart. Before long, numerous boxers were ringing his phone for his services.

Some of the biggest names that Clark works with are Errol Spence Jr. and Jarrell ”Big Baby” Miller. Clark and Spence connected because of the mutual respect they garnered in the Dallas community.

“Errol and I have been friends since before he went to the Olympics. He was a young guy from Dallas that was making noise. I was a young guy from Dallas making noise, so we linked up and became friends,” Clark said. “We’re two guys that trust one another. I trust Errol with advice and things that I need to get done and vice versa. The Everlast deal took four years to get done. He always felt that he was the best boxer in the world. He felt that back in 2014.”

Clark helped Spence secure a very lucrative endorsement deal with Everlast. He’s currently the highest paid athlete on their roster. Clark’s work with Everlast evolved into much more. He proposed an initiative with them that he called, “Protect Yourself at all Times.”

“That campaign focuses on informing and educating professional boxers and their families on the business side of boxing,” said Clark. “With other sports, they have symposiums and things like that to help rookies coming in to transition from collegiate level to the professional ranks. In boxing, we don’t have that at all, and you have to figure things out yourself.”

Clark wrote a book titled Protect Yourself at All Times: A Guide for Professional Boxers to help inform boxers of the pitfalls awaiting them in the business world. Everlast loved Clark’s message and enthusiasm and they work to promote their campaign together.

His work with Everlast made an impact on Jarrell Miller who reached out to Clark after reading his book. Clark assisted Miller in inking a promotional deal with Everlast because he was encouraged by Clark and the brand’s commitment to a boxer’s safety outside of the ring.

“It came to fruition where I flew to New York, we spent the day together and got to know each other,” recounted Clark. “I told him let me put some things together and see if Everlast will get this deal done.”

Clark is now the head of AC Sports Management, where he helps manage and advise boxers on a wide variety of business dealings. What separates him from other managers is that he doesn’t sign fighters to exclusive contracts. He has signed agreements, but they’re open-ended and empower the athlete instead of the manager.

“None of the guys I represent are under contract,” revealed Clark. “No one has a managerial contract with AC Sports Management. I don’t work that way.

“I’ve created a boxer manager agreement to where the fighters hold the contract and when they want to hire a manager or representative they pass the agreement to the manager, and the fighter regulates it rather than vice versa.”

Clark’s business practices are different but fair. He’s doing something that virtually no other manager or advisor in the boxing world is doing. He’s putting the fighter first in all respects. He’s doing something right because Willie Monroe Jr., Chris Ousley, Frank Galarza, and many more have sought him out for his help.

Clark and Everlast have big plans that could further benefit boxers financially and emotionally.

“Everlast Worldwide and I have agreed to do boxing’s first symposium which we’re going to look to do in 2020,” said Clark. “The angle that I’m taking is something that’s going to be special. It’s something that is going to be on the theatrical level, more like a Broadway play. It’s going to be something that people have never seen before, but it’s going to be very informative.”

Clark and Everlast’s crusade to protect boxers outside of the ring is just beginning, but their efforts are sure to help boxers’ lives for the better. He has a new book out now called Boxing = Life, which is aimed at helping all people feel inspired through the lessons that boxing has imparted on him.

Clark made his future goal plain and simple, “[Everlast is] looking to do whatever it takes to protect guys inside the ring, and I’m looking to do whatever it takes to protect them outside the ring.”